TradeDay Banned Countries 2026: The Full Restricted List

# TradeDay Banned Countries 2026: The Full Restricted List

TradeDay restricts roughly 80 countries from signing up. The list isn't arbitrary, it tracks anti-money-laundering rules, US export-control overlap, sanctioned-state regimes, and the compliance cost of serving small markets. The Help Center maintains the canonical version and updates as conditions change. This guide walks the full list verbatim, groups it by region so you can scan it quickly, explains the three regulatory drivers behind it, and covers the one legal workaround (moving residency) and the prohibited workaround (VPN masking) that catches traders at KYC.

If you're not on the list, you can sign up. TradeDay verifies residency through standard KYC at funded transition, so what matters is where you actually live, not where your IP address sits at the moment of signup.

The Full Restricted Country List

The list below is the Help Center's complete restricted set as of April 2026. Some entries are sub-national (Crimea Region of Ukraine, for example) and some bundle related territories ("Balkans" in addition to specific Balkan countries appears on the list, which is how the Help Center words it). Where the Help Center lists a country, it's repeated here verbatim.

The "Magnitsky" entry refers to individuals and entities listed under the US Magnitsky Act, not a country, TradeDay carries it on the same list because compliance-wise it sits in the same bucket as the country sanctions. The "Balkans" entry is broader than the named Balkan countries (Albania, Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia) and effectively closes any gap left by the named-country list.

The Conditional: Canada Outside Ontario

Canada is the one geography where the restriction is sub-national. Ontario is permitted. Every other province and territory, Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Quebec, Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Yukon, is excluded.

The reason is provincial securities regulation. Canadian financial regulation runs through provincial securities commissions rather than a single national body. TradeDay's compliance setup aligns with the Ontario Securities Commission's framework, which is what permits Ontario sign-ups. Adding a second province requires a separate compliance review and registration; the cost-benefit hasn't justified it for the other provinces yet.

For Ontario residents specifically: standard KYC documents work, government ID with an Ontario address, proof of residency through utility bill or bank statement, and the normal onboarding flow goes through. For non-Ontario Canadians, the only legal path is establishing Ontario residency (real residency, not a mailing address) before signing up.

VPN, VPS, and Location Masking, Forbidden

TradeDay's prohibited practices list includes "using VPN, VPS, or proxy services to mask location to bypass country restrictions." The Help Center treats this as a deliberate compliance breach rather than an honest mistake. Consequences:

• Account offboarding, flagged accounts are closed.
• Profit confiscation, any pending withdrawal or accumulated funded balance is forfeited.
• No reinstatement, flagged accounts cannot re-sign-up under the same identity.

The detection mechanism is layered. The platform monitors IP and connection metadata during trading, but the conclusive catch happens at funded transition during KYC. To convert a Funded Sim balance to a Funded Live account and request payout, you have to verify identity and residency through documents, government ID, utility bill, bank statement showing your address. A trader who signed up from a permitted country using a VPN but lives in a restricted country can't produce verification documents from the permitted country, and the mismatch ends the relationship.

This is genuinely different from temporary travel. If you live in Germany and visit Indonesia for two weeks, your residency is still Germany. Your KYC documents show Germany. You're a German trader who happens to be online from Indonesia for a session. That's not what the prohibition targets, it targets traders whose actual residence is restricted but who try to mask that residence through technical means.

Why Are So Many Countries Restricted?

Three drivers explain the bulk of the list. Most countries on the list trip more than one driver, which is why the list is as long as it is.

Driver 1: AML and Counter-Terrorism Finance

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) maintains two lists that drive prop-firm compliance:

• High-risk jurisdictions subject to a call for action, currently Iran, DPRK (North Korea), Myanmar. These are countries where FATF directly recommends counter-measures.
• Jurisdictions under increased monitoring, a longer rotating list of countries with strategic AML deficiencies. The list rotates every few months as countries either remediate or get added.

Prop firms working with US clearing relationships inherit FATF compliance through their banking and brokerage partners. A US-cleared futures prop can't realistically onboard traders from FATF call-for-action jurisdictions because the firm's correspondent banking relationships would refuse the transactions. This explains the inclusion of Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, and most of the FATF-monitored list (which historically has included countries like Pakistan, Burkina Faso, Mali, South Sudan, Yemen, Syria).

Driver 2: US Export Controls and Sanctions

OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) maintains the US sanctions regime. Comprehensive sanctions cover Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea/Sevastopol, Donetsk/Luhansk regions of Ukraine, and (at the time of writing) significant portions of Russia and Belarus. Sectoral sanctions cover specific industries or individuals (the Magnitsky list, for example).

US-domiciled prop firms can't onboard from comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions full stop. The legal exposure isn't worth any volume those markets would generate. This explains Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Crimea, Russia, and Belarus on the list.

Driver 3: Compliance Cost vs Market Size

The third driver is economics. Adding a country to the permitted list isn't free, it requires verification rails for that country's ID documents, payout infrastructure that works for that country's banking system, dispute resolution that handles that country's legal framework, and ongoing monitoring of that country's compliance status. For small markets, the cost of adding the country exceeds the trading volume the country would produce.

This explains a lot of the list that doesn't fit cleanly into FATF or OFAC categories: small Caribbean territories (Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago), Pacific islands (Papua New Guinea, Guam), small EU markets (Malta, Iceland, Slovenia), and African countries that aren't on FATF lists but where verification infrastructure isn't built out (Botswana, Mauritius, Namibia, South Africa).

The compliance-cost driver is the most fluid. As infrastructure builds out, or as TradeDay's compliance partners add coverage, countries can move from restricted to permitted. The FATF and OFAC drivers are stickier because they depend on geopolitical conditions outside any prop firm's control.

Region-by-Region Summary

Africa

The most heavily restricted region. Roughly half the African continent is on TradeDay's list, including most of West Africa, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa, and Southern Africa (including South Africa itself). Permitted African countries include Egypt, Kenya, Rwanda, and a handful of others not on the restricted list. The driver is a mix: FATF monitoring covers much of the Sahel and Horn, US sanctions touch Sudan and historically Zimbabwe, and compliance-cost-driven exclusion covers the rest.

For African traders specifically, the legal workaround is establishing residency in a permitted neighboring country. UAE, Mauritius (interesting, Mauritius is on the restricted list but its neighbor relationships aren't), and Egypt are common destinations.

Middle East & MENA

The MENA region is split. Permitted: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Israel, Egypt, Turkey. Restricted: Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan. The split tracks closely with US foreign policy, the restricted list maps to either active sanctions (Iran, Syria) or post-Arab Spring instability (Libya, Yemen, Syria).

Europe

Most of the EU and Western Europe is permitted. The restricted list includes the Balkans (broadly), Russia, Belarus, Ukraine (with Crimea explicitly called out), several smaller EU members (Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Slovenia, Malta), and Iceland. Switzerland, the UK, and most EEA-member states without restriction are fine.

The Russia-Ukraine bloc is sanctions-driven. The Balkan inclusion is a mix of FATF monitoring (Albania has historically been on the list) and compliance-cost rationale for smaller markets. Romania and Bulgaria's inclusion is unusual, both are EU members in good standing, but TradeDay's specific compliance setup excludes them.

Asia

Southeast Asia is heavily restricted: Indonesia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Philippines, Vietnam, Pakistan, Afghanistan. Permitted Asian markets include Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, India. China is not on the restricted list as published, but practical issues (capital controls, payout rails) make Chinese sign-ups uncommon.

The Southeast Asian restrictions are mostly compliance-cost and FATF-driven. Myanmar specifically is FATF call-for-action. Pakistan has been on FATF monitoring lists historically. Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, and Lao PDR are compliance-cost-driven exclusions.

Latin America & Caribbean

Permitted: Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, Costa Rica. Restricted: Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, Barbados, Panama, Puerto Rico (US territory), and the British/US Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands.

Cuba and Venezuela are sanctions-driven. Nicaragua has been under sectoral sanctions. The Caribbean territories are mostly compliance-cost driven. Panama's inclusion likely tracks historical FATF monitoring around offshore-finance concerns.

What's a Legal Workaround?

There is exactly one. Establish residency in a permitted country.

This is meaningfully different from VPN masking. Establishing residency means actually moving, getting a real address (not a mail-forwarding service), real residency documentation, real bank presence, and a real connection to the new country. Standard documents that work at TradeDay KYC:

• Government-issued ID with the new address (national ID card, residence permit, driver's license depending on country)
• Utility bill or rental agreement in your name
• Bank statement from a bank in the new country showing your address
• Tax residency documentation if the country issues it

Common destinations for traders moving residency for prop-trading reasons: UAE (no tax, easy residency through company formation), Cyprus (EU residency, established expat infrastructure), Portugal (NHR program historically, tax considerations), Georgia (territorial taxation, fast residency), Malaysia (MM2H program). Each has its own residency requirements and tax implications that go beyond prop trading, moving residency for the sole purpose of TradeDay access is a poor cost-benefit; moving residency as part of a broader life or tax decision that incidentally permits TradeDay is the realistic path.

Once residency is established and documents are in your new country's name, you sign up using the new address. KYC verification goes through normally because the documents support the address you provided.

What's NOT a Workaround

To repeat clearly: VPN, VPS, proxy, mailing-address services that aren't actual residency, fake utility bills, or any other technical or documentary masking. TradeDay's KYC team has seen all the variations. The mismatch surfaces at funded transition and ends the relationship with profit forfeiture.

The other thing that's not a workaround: signing up under a friend or family member's name in a permitted country. KYC requires the person trading to be the person on the account. A founded relationship between sign-up identity and trading identity that diverge is treated as identity fraud, with the same offboarding-and-confiscation outcome plus the legal exposure on both sides.

Eligibility Beyond Country

Country isn't the only eligibility filter. TradeDay also requires:

• 18 or older
• Government-issued ID for KYC
• A payment method that works (most major credit cards, some debit cards, some crypto rails, varies by country)
• Single account per trader (not per email, TradeDay tracks across emails)
• No active Funded Live account when purchasing additional sign-ups

The full eligibility breakdown is in TradeDay eligibility requirements.

How the List Changes

The Help Center is the canonical reference and updates without notice. Three patterns drive changes:

1. Sanctions adjustments. When OFAC or the EU adds or removes a country from the sanctions list, TradeDay's list typically updates within days.
2. FATF list changes. FATF publishes updates roughly every four months. Countries that get added to the call-for-action or increased-monitoring list are typically added; countries removed from monitoring may be removed from TradeDay's list with some lag.
3. Compliance-cost reviews. Less frequent, when TradeDay's compliance partners add new country coverage (verification, payout rails), the cost-benefit can flip and previously-restricted markets become permitted.

If you're sitting on a country that's currently restricted and considering signing up, the honest answer is: check the Help Center the day you sign up. The list isn't stable enough to bookmark.

The bottom line

TradeDay's roughly 80-country restricted list looks long but is structurally explicable: AML and FATF compliance, US export controls, and compliance-cost rationale for low-volume markets. Most of the list maps to one of those three drivers, often more than one stacked together. The Canada-Ontario conditional is the one sub-national exception, driven by provincial securities regulation rather than country-level concerns.

The legal workaround is moving residency to a permitted country, actually moving, with real documentation. The illegal workaround is VPN or location masking, which TradeDay treats as a prohibited practice with offboarding and profit forfeiture as the consequence. KYC at funded transition catches the mismatch even when in-platform monitoring doesn't.

For the eligibility requirements that apply once you're in a permitted country, TradeDay eligibility requirements covers age, KYC, payment, and account-count rules. For the post-evaluation payout flow that triggers the residency verification, TradeDay payout policy walks the buffer-zone, profit-split tiers, and processing windows. The full TradeDay rulebook with the maximum drawdown rule, 30% consistency, and news-trading lockout is in TradeDay rules 2026, and the firm-vs-firm comparison most readers ask for is TradeDay vs Lucid Trading.

Frequently Asked Questions

How TradeDay Verifies Country at KYC

TradeDay's country verification runs through the standard prop firm stack: identity documents at sign up, IP geography during the evaluation, and payment method ownership at payout. The combined check is conservative.

What TradeDay looks for

• Government issued ID with the registered country printed on it.
• IP geography consistent with the registered country across the lifetime of the account.
• Payment card or bank account registered in the same country.
• Withdrawal destination owned by the verified trader.

Where mismatches usually surface

Most country related rejections happen at the first payout, not at sign up. A trader registered in country A but trading from country B for several months can pass the evaluation, then fail at withdrawal when the IP history and ID country no longer line up.

VPN Use From a Restricted Country

Using a VPN to make a restricted country look unrestricted is a clear policy breach. TradeDay's KYC at payout typically catches it because the identity documents will still show the restricted country, even if the IP history looks clean.

Practical reality

• VPNs do not change the country printed on a passport.
• Payment method ownership is still tied to a registered country.
• Withdrawal destination further reveals the underlying location.
• Detection at payout means the deposit is lost and the account is closed.

Ontario Versus the Rest of Canada

Canada is a conditional case at TradeDay. Most Canadian provinces are permitted, but the policy can shift for specific provinces or regulatory contexts.

What conditional means

• Acceptance subject to additional documentation requirements.
• Possible delays at KYC review.
• Higher likelihood of a manual review at first payout.
• Policy can update without long advance notice.

Canadian traders should confirm the current province level acceptance with TradeDay support before committing to a paid evaluation.

Restricted Country Workarounds That Do Not Work

Family member account

Asking a relative in a permitted country to register the account on your behalf fails at KYC at the first payout. The identity documents, the payment method, and the withdrawal destination would all need to match the relative, which converts the workaround into an account you do not legally control.

Travel based registration

Travelling to a permitted country to register the account and then returning home to trade still fails at payout. The IP history, the device fingerprint, and the payment method will all reveal the actual base of operation.

Corporate account

Registering as a company based in a permitted country requires real corporate documentation and a beneficial ownership disclosure that names the underlying trader. Restricted country traders who are the beneficial owner remain restricted regardless of the company structure.

What to Do If You Are in a Restricted Country

• Pick a futures prop firm that explicitly accepts your country.
• Confirm acceptance in writing through the firm's support channel.
• Confirm payment processing routes to your country.
• Confirm payout destinations are supported for your country.

How TradeDay Compares to Other Futures Prop Firms on Country Policy

Most US futures prop firms apply a similar core restriction list driven by US sanctions law and AML regulation. The differences appear at the margin: which African countries are permitted, which South East Asian countries are restricted, and how strict the firm is on conditional jurisdictions like Canadian provinces.

Why TradeDay Restricts the Countries It Does

TradeDay is operated as a US futures prop firm. The restriction list closely tracks US sanctions, FATF grey and black lists, and KYC AML risk ratings used by the firm's banking partners.

What drives a country onto the list

• Direct US sanctions or OFAC listings.
• FATF designation as a high risk jurisdiction.
• Banking partner refusal to process payouts to the country.
• Specific compliance reviews from the firm's legal counsel.

Updating Your Registered Country After a Legitimate Move

If you move from a permitted country to another permitted country during the lifetime of your TradeDay account, contact support before the next payout request. Provide documentary proof of the move such as a visa stamp, a new utility bill, or a lease agreement. Pre disclosure keeps the first payout from the new country on its normal timeline.

Bottom Line

TradeDay maintains an industry standard restricted country list driven by US sanctions and KYC AML constraints. The list is large, the enforcement is conservative, and the workarounds traders sometimes try do not work because KYC at payout cross checks identity documents, IP history, and payment method ownership. Confirm acceptance for your country before paying for an evaluation. If you are restricted, switch to a firm that explicitly accepts your jurisdiction rather than testing the boundaries of TradeDay's policy.

Practical Takeaways for Active Traders

The rule set covered above is the official policy. The day to day reality of trading at TradeDay comes down to a handful of habits that protect the account from avoidable losses and keep payout cycles moving without friction.

Daily routine that protects the account

• Review the previous session's trades against the rule set before opening any new positions.
• Confirm the running drawdown level in the dashboard before the first trade of the day.
• Set a personal daily stop that sits comfortably above the platform enforced daily loss limit.
• Place a calendar reminder for any rule that operates on a 30 day or 60 day cycle.
• Document any payout cycle decisions in a personal trade journal for review at month end.

Weekly maintenance checklist

• Reconcile the platform's running profit total with your own journal.
• Confirm that all open positions match the position size limits for the current phase.
• Check the firm's news feed for any rule updates that may have shipped during the week.
• Plan the trading days for the coming week against any consistency or minimum days rule.
• Audit the percent of total cycle profit that has come from the single biggest day so far.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

Traders who lose accounts at TradeDay usually breach the same handful of rules. The list below captures the patterns that show up most often in community forums and support tickets.

• Ignoring the running drawdown level and pushing position size on a hot streak.
• Trading through tier one economic releases without a buffered stop.
• Concentrating an entire cycle's profit on a single explosive day.
• Skipping the dashboard rule version check after a published policy update.
• Treating the activation fee or other one off costs as optional rather than mandatory.
• Switching strategies mid cycle without re testing the rule fit.

How To Read The Fine Print

Prop firm rule documents are short for a reason. They are written to define the boundaries of acceptable trading, not to teach a strategy. Reading them with the right lens matters.

Three lenses for a clean read

• The breach lens: which sentences describe a trigger that closes the account.
• The payout lens: which sentences describe a trigger that withholds or voids a withdrawal.
• The grandfathering lens: which sentences describe a rule that applies only to legacy accounts.

Reading TradeDay's policy through these three lenses surfaces the rules that actually matter on a day to day basis and pushes the cosmetic clauses to the background where they belong.

Risk Management Habits That Travel Across Firms

The rules at any single prop firm matter, but the habits that keep an account healthy are largely the same everywhere. A trader who builds the right routine at one firm carries it cleanly into the next.